January 8, 2021

Dear Wonderful Nazareth Families,

I pray you had a Blessed Christmas and Joyous New Year! As we prepare this weekend to celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, please remember Jesus’ baptism demonstrates His great humility and is an example for us to all to follow.

Mk 1:7-11 This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Thank you to the Nazareth teachers, staff, students and parents who have been working diligently to make this first week of distance learning successful. As we plan to return to campus with in person instruction on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, I ask you to partner with Nazareth School to remain safe from Covid-19. I place a tremendous burden upon you all as a Nazareth Community, and ask that you follow the guidance outlined in our Nazareth School Reopening plan, specifically in regards to traveling and informing Nazareth School of any potential exposure to an individual with COVID-19. I have highlighted these specific areas below, and respectfully ask you to re-read and follow these guidance’s on our safe school practices.

GUIDANCE IF EXPOSED (pg. 18)

While we all hope to avoid exposure to illness from COVID19, we need to be prepared for that possibility. If you or someone you’ve been in contact with has been exposed to the virus, our first concern is for your health and safety and those around you. In this rapidly changing situation, healthcare providers should have the most up-to-date information from the CDC.

Please do the following: 1. Quarantine yourself in a specific room away from others in your home 2. Contact the following (in order of priority), let them know you have been exposed to COVID19, then follow their instructions. 1. Your healthcare provider 2. Nazareth School’s administrator 3. Your supervisor 3. Your supervisor will work with HR to determine appropriate next steps. 4. In case of an emergency, call 911 and let them know you have been exposed to COVID19, then follow their instructions.

TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS (pg. 7)

If a child, household member, teacher or staff member travels to another county or state with widespread community transmission, they must use the following regulations: • Practice social distancing • Be alert to symptoms • Watch for fever, cough, shortness of breath, and other symptoms of COVID-19 • Take temperature if symptoms develop • Follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop

Nazareth School would appreciate open communication about travel and potential exposure to keep everyone safe during this time.

As a reminder, second quarter will be ending on Friday, January 22, and reports cards will be going home on Friday, January 29, via the family envelope. We ask parents of distance learners to please pick up the family envelope on Friday, January 29, as they will require a parent signature.

In addition, please read the attached Nazareth News for important information and calendar changes. Due to the unexpected Tuesday, December 8 school closure, we had to remove the May 10, 2021 local holiday to keep the required 180 days of instruction which is required by the state of California and the Diocese of San Diego. Therefore, Monday, May 10, 2021 is now a full regular day of school. Also, please keep a look out for a mailing from Nazareth School which will contain the extended care billing, revised January hot lunch orders and remaining Turkey Trot invoices.

Renaissance/STAR Testing (January 19-29):

Star Testing will begin on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. It will be completed in the exact same process as in the Fall.

• All students on-campus in kindergarten through 8th grade will be taking the Math and Reading tests proctored by their teachers-aide. • Distance learners in grades 5th through 8th grade will be taking the Star testing, during school hours, and will be proctored by their teachers. They will receive their passwords from the teachers at the time of testing. • Distance learners in kindergarten through 4th grade will receive a letter detailing our testing expectations, passwords and the on-line instructions on Monday, January 19, 2021.

The purpose of Star testing is to provide teachers and principals with data necessary to make important decisions about your students learning. Whether instruction is provided face-to-face, remotely, or in a combination of the two, data from Star helps us to:

• See what students have already learned—and what they’re ready to learn next • Gauge the effectiveness of instruction, so they can make adjustments when necessary • Identify students who are struggling and may need extra support • Compare students’ performance to that of their grade-level peers across the US • Set goals for student growth, and track progress toward these goals • See how students are performing against grade-level standards • See how students are likely to perform on the state summative test

This computer-adaptive test is designed to pinpoint students’ performance level by asking a series of questions in either ELA or math. Some questions will be easy to answer and others will be difficult, covering material the student hasn’t encountered before. The Star Testing is simply used as a diagnostic snapshot, used to determine where a student is academically, at that moment of time, and how we as a school and class need to assist them with their curriculum success.

Please help your child understand that we use the test results to plan our lessons and activities they will be participating in this year. On the computer-adaptive test, all students will encounter questions they don’t know the answer to—and this is OK. What’s important is that they make their best effort.

I will continue to pray you all stay health and that 2021 brings us joy and laughter! If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call the office at 619-641-7987, or email me directly at [email protected].

God watch over our students, God watch over our parents and families, God watch over our teachers and staff!

God Bless,

Mrs. René Coons Principal Nazareth School